


wherever you are is the place i belong

by tmwshj



Series: tales of the song empire [2]
Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Childhood Friends, Crushes, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Metaphors, Mutual Pining, garden boy!seongmin, gongtang, guard-in-training!taeyoung, hyeongjun is a king now we love to see it, the same universe as my minisong royalty fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26296357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwshj/pseuds/tmwshj
Summary: taeyoung isn’t a prince, nor is he a noble,but seongmin has found his happily ever after with him nonetheless.-title from one direction - ready to run
Relationships: Ahn Seongmin/Kim Taeyoung, Kang Minhee/Song Hyeongjun
Series: tales of the song empire [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1910653
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to my eleventh work on here! seriously why is the cravity tag on ao3 so dry i swear i will water this damn tag myself if i have to 😤 you can consider this a spin-off from my [minisong royalty fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23464441) as this occurs in the same universe as that! you don’t have to read the first fic to understand this one, but there will be some references made occasionally (but like,, i’m not stopping you if you wish to read it 😙).
> 
> a huge thank you to nix (@nixfairytails) and sana (@loveglazed) for helping me beta-read this! love y’all sm muacks <3
> 
> enjoy!

“he loves me,”

seongmin’s gaze follows the falling rose petal.

“he loves me not,”

he sighs.

“he loves me,”

his eyes linger at the petal still attached to the flower’s bud. reluctantly, he gently tugs at the last ruby-red petal.

“he loves me not.”

damn.

an image of a boy slowly fades.

he sprawls his body across the banister of the gazebo, lying lazily as his eyes wander around the castle garden. growing up in the palace, seongmin has always been fond of the garden. he spent his days as the trusty garden boy tending to the thousands of flowers the royal garden has to offer – carnations, orchids, poppies, daisies. you name it, the royal garden probably has it. _but the most splendid of them all_ , seongmin thinks, picking the fallen rose petals off the marbled gazebo floor,

_is the rose._

they seem regal, something only royalty could own, with their deep red petals and thorny stalks. above all, it makes seongmin truly feel as though he belongs in the castle.

watching the sun set below the horizon, seongmin lets out another sigh, allowing his thoughts to flood his mind. the castle was a beautiful place, don’t get him wrong, but being surrounded by noblemen and maidens from all over the country has taken a toll on him. he loves the castle – but it wasn’t where he belonged. it is the day before his 18th birthday, the day where he will legally be able to leave the castle and start a new life for himself. it had always been a tradition for the children of servants to work till the age of 18 before they were allowed to leave.

watching the final ray of light disappear below the hills, seongmin calls it a day, dusting off his apron as he makes his way back into the castle. he pushes open the heavy wooden door, hinges creaking as he did so. ever so faintly, he hears music coming from the ballroom right above him.

it’s funny how in his eighteen years of living, he has never danced in the ballroom, and he can only dream that one day, the ballroom would be open to common folk as well. he envies minhee a lot really – ever since he and king hyeongjun met that one fateful night, they had become inseparable, and one of the first things hyeongjun did as king was to promote minhee to a nobleman. a shock to many of the servants, but seongmin had expected it. thankfully, minhee still drops by the servants’ quarters with sweets from the palace kitchen, so at least there’s that.

but he doesn’t envy minhee because of the perks, no. he envies minhee because he had finally gotten the one thing the both of them had wished to obtain all their lives – freedom. albeit, minhee achieved his a little unconventionally, but it works.

closing his eyes, seongmin allows the faint music from the ballroom to carry him across the cold marbled floor of the castle. he imagines himself wearing the finest clothes, holding onto the person he loved the most as the two of them glides across the ballroom without a care in the world. and the person he imagines, was none other than the boy that he’s been admiring for the past five years.

kim taeyoung, son of the head of the royal army.

how did it all begin, you may wonder? well readers, it went something like this.

it was summer. a favourite season for many, but not for seongmin.

seongmin hated summer with a passion. summer meant that it was hot, and that meant that the flowers kept wilting, which all led up to him being constantly reprimanded by the chief gardener, a burly lady who seemed to hate her job.

so simply put, summer sucked.

a young seongmin had just finished getting told off by said chief gardener, and was spending his time sulking while he pulled out the weeds.

“curse this, it’s not even my fault that it’s so hot.” seongmin grumbled under his breath as he forcefully pulled out another weed from the ground. he was just about to move onto the rose bush – the flower he despised the most. they were thorny and always pricked his fingers whenever he had to clean them up. plus, they weren’t even THAT pretty. 

he was just about to start weeding out the rose bush, when he heard a voice pipe up from behind him.

“hello!”

seongmin yelps, spinning around. “what the–”

he was met face to face with another boy, and seongmin figures that he was about the same age as him, judging from their similar heights. the boy was smiling brightly at him as he reached out for a handshake. “name’s taeyoung. what are you doing?”

seongmin eyed the boy suspiciously. he was wearing a sort of leather chest plate (that was slightly too large for his skinny frame) and some knee guards, but most distinctively, he was covered in mud (the most evident stain smeared across his left cheek). _must be one of guards in training_. seongmin hesitantly reached out to shake taeyoung’s hand.

“i’m seongmin, and i’m weeding the garden.” he deadpanned.

seongmin chose to ignore taeyoung, turning around to continue his task. the quicker he got this over with, the better – a strange boy be damned.

“oh! sounds cool, can i help?” taeyoung piped up. seongmin was annoyed at this point, mumbling a quick “sure”. he could use the extra help anyways.

“all you have to do is pull out the weeds that look like this,” seongmin pulled out a weed, allowing taeyoung to take a quick look, “and be careful of the thorns.”

the two boys worked in silence for a while, until seongmin’s curiousity got the best of him.

“so,” he started, drawling out the final syllable, “what made you come here? to the garden, i mean.”

“oh, i got bored with training. plus,” taeyoung gestures to himself, “they kept making us crawl in the mud.” seongmin lets out a chuckle.

“no one told you to try out guard training.”

“i didn’t have a choice, unfortunately,” taeyoung lamented, now sitting cross-legged on the ground. “my dad is the head of the kingdom’s army.”

and for a moment, seongmin felt as though there was someone who could understand him.

“that must suck, huh? being forced to do something that you don’t want.”

taeyoung shrugged. “it’s alright, i guess. but there are times i wish i could just– i don’t know– take a break and do something else other than train from dawn till dusk. it gets tiring.”

“i get that.” seongmin exhaled ever so quietly.

seongmin was about to say something, when the two boys were interrupted.

“kim taeyoung! you better show yourself right now or else it’s a hundred push ups for you!”

_oh shit, is that…?_

“shit, that’s my dad!” taeyoung whisper-yelled, panicking.

seongmin gestured for taeyoung to stay down as he looked towards the red-faced guard. unlike taeyoung, the head of the army was a stocky middle-aged man with rough black hair, a stark contrast to his rather lanky son.

“stay quiet, i got this.” seongmin whispered to taeyoung, who was now curled up next to the rose bush.

in his most polite “adult” voice, seongmin forced his brightest smile. “hello! i’m seongmin, the garden boy, may i help you with anything today?”

the head guard, clearly caught off guard by the angel of a boy, flinched before quickly regaining his composure. “seongmin,” his voice now a little sweeter, “have you seen a boy, around your age, skinny, and wearing a leather chest plate?”

out of the corner of his eye, seongmin saw taeyoung clasp his hands together in a silent prayer.

“ah, unfortunately not, sir, sorry i couldn’t be of much help.” and for seongmin’s killer move, he lets out the biggest pout he could muster.

“oh, it’s alright boy, it’s not your fault.” the head guard faltered, placing a reassuring hand on seongmin’s shoulder.

 _bingo! works every time_ , seongmin thought.

“well, i’ll go look somewhere else. thanks for your help, boy.” the head guard stated, turning on his heel as he rushed in the opposite direction.

seongmin ensured that he was out of sight before returning to taeyoung.

“god bless you.” taeyoung heaved a sigh of relief, getting up and dusting off his knees.

“it’s no problem. plus, the look in your dad’s eyes screamed bloody murder. you’re so screwed when he finally gets you.”

taeyoung laughed. “yeah, i am. isn’t the first time though, so i’ll live.”

without warning, taeyoung pulled seongmin into a tight hug. “thank you, this was fun, but i should head back now.”

seongmin visibly freezed, too shocked to reciprocate the sudden act of affection. “uh, you’re welcome?”

taeyoung pulled back, smiling. “also, before i go, can i ask you something?”

“yeah, sure.”

“what flowers are these?” taeyoung held a rose bud in his hand. there was something so gentle about the way he did it too, his slim fingers easily curling around the red petals.

“oh, they’re roses.”

“i think they’re my favourite flower now. may… may i take one?” taeyoung looked at seongmin, a certain plea in his eyes.

“oh, uh, of course.” seongmin fumbled, getting out his gardening scissors and snipping one that was in full bloom. “here.”

seongmin had never handed someone a rose before, and he would be lying if he said his heart wasn’t speeding up.

“thank you!” taeyoung beamed, clasping the rose tightly before gently placing it in his pocket. “i’ll see you around seongmin!”

taeyoung waved before climbing over the garden fence and running away towards the guard house.

seongmin watched as taeyoung’s silhouette disappeared behind some towers, then averted his gaze back at the half weeded-out rose bush. he watched as the rose bud that taeyoung held previously started to bloom.

 _maybe roses weren’t so bad after all_. 

ever since then, seongmin found himself looking out for the other boy. he spent more time in the previously claustrophobic-feeling servant’s quarters, because it provided the best view of the royal guards’ training grounds. he fell in love with the way taeyoung practised – with his quick and nimble movements and how he seemed to outsmart his opponent in every sparring match. taeyoung wasn’t as strong as his father for sure, but somehow, seongmin could see him becoming one of the kingdom’s greatest and most intelligent army leaders in history.

for the past five years, he and taeyoung exchanged quick waves from seongmin’s window, and when they had time, they met at the gazebo in the royal garden and talked about their futures until the sun was about to set. unknowingly, they had grown up together, and seongmin sees a future with taeyoung in it, decorated by roses and filled with its addictive scent.

seongmin snaps out from his reverie by the clearing of a throat. his eyes shoot open and his feet come to a stop.

“who…who’s there? show yourself!” seongmin goes on high alert, eyes darting around the dimly lit first floor of the castle. the royalty gets chandeliers, while common folk get candles.

“boo!” he feels a pair of familiar hands on his shoulders.

seongmin whips around, “damn it taeyoung, you scared me!”

“that’s the point tho- ouch! okay, okay! i’m sorry!” taeyoung is cut off by an angry seongmin hitting him on the shoulder.

“anyways, what has you down here, dancing by yourself and all?”

“oh, it’s nothing. don’t worry about it.”

“seongmin, i’ve known you for ages, you can tell me. i’m not going to laugh at you or anything.”

seongmin feels his heart do that thing again, as he slowly steps away from taeyoung. “i… i’ve always wanted to dance… in the ballroom.”

 _‘with you’_ he wants so badly to add, but the words get stuck in his throat.

taeyoung, however, takes it upon himself.

“well then, my kind sir, i can’t give you a ballroom but,” taeyoung, in his scruffy practice gear and dishevelled hair, does a deep bow, holding out his hand.

“will you give me the honour of this dance?” taeyoung glances up at seongmin, eyes sparkling behind his lashes.

seongmin feels his heart thrum in happiness, gladly placing his hand into taeyoung’s. “it’ll be my pleasure.” he replies, with his best fake royalty voice.

taeyoung giggles (seongmin wishes he could hear it forever) as he intertwines their hands together, placing his other free-hand on seongmin’s waist. seongmin places a hand on taeyoung’s shoulder, and with that, the two boys are off, gliding across the marbled floor of the castle basement. it was a little clumsy, occasionally tripping over each other’s feet due to the lack of experience, but seongmin couldn’t care less. the moonlight filtered through a tiny window in one of the stone walls, and the candles flickered every time a gust of wind blew by, but it didn’t matter. in that moment, the world had stopped for seongmin and taeyoung, as the two boys danced to the soft tune of the ballroom music.

they danced and danced, so much that after one final twirl, the two boys collapsed onto the ground, laughing their hearts out.

 _this_ , seongmin thinks, _i think this is what love feels like_.

lying on the ground, he allows his eyes to wander, his gaze tracing over taeyoung’s features like he was admiring a piece of fine art.

“you’re staring.” taeyoung looks back, his gaze soft but piercing.

seongmin blinks, cheeks reddening. “n-no.”

taeyoung laughs, getting up from the floor, holding out a hand to seongmin. “i have a surprise for you.”

seongmin sits up, grabbing taeyoung’s outstretched hand. “what is it?”

“i’ll show you.”

seongmin allows taeyoung to pull him up one of the castle’s many spiral staircases, the soft carpet occasionally tickling the sides of his feet.

“are we there yet?” seongmin whines, his knees starting to ache. so much for always squatting down in the garden.

“sshhh! we’re almost there!”

they finally arrive at what seems to be the top of a watchtower, minus the guards and weapons. taeyoung pushes open an old wooden door, and seongmin swears the door might collapse if he pushes any harder.

all those worries vanish though, when he’s met with the prettiest view he had ever seen. seongmin looks out from the watchtower, taking in the way the stars seem to cover every inch of the night sky, how the rolling hills seem to stretch out endlessly – he even manages to see the bridge that connected the castle to the village! simply put, it was magical.

he looks back at taeyoung, who seems to be quite happy with the reaction he was getting. “this is beautiful! i-i… how did you find this place?”

“well, it’s an abandoned watch tower. we figured that there was no use guarding the hills since they weren’t steep.” taeyoung replies.

seongmin looks back at the view, taking in as much as he could. oh, how he longed to be with the townspeople! to be woken up by the cry of a rooster (instead of being screamed at by the chief gardener), to go to sleep to the gentle rustle of hay being swept by the wind, and most of all, to be able to buy things! how funny, to be 18 years old and to have never bought anything with money.

seongmin is once again interrupted from his daydream by the clearing of a throat. he looks back at taeyoung only to be met with another surprise. in taeyoung’s hands – a bouquet of red roses.

“it’s a little rushed, b-but i still hope you like it.” taeyoung shoves the bouquet into seongmin’s hands, and for the first time, the former’s cheeks turn red.

“i read, in the library, that red roses symbolises love.” taeyoung scratches his head, eyes not daring to leave the ground.

seongmin pauses, taking in taeyoung’s words. _finally_.

when seongmin doesn’t reply, taeyoung starts to panic, “uh, i just- shit, i took those from the garden, i’m sor– ” but before taeyoung can explain himself, he’s crushed in a tight hug.

“i love it.” seongmin confesses. “and yes, you dummy, i love you too.”

taeyoung breaks out into the smile that seongmin loves the most, as he envelops the smaller boy with his larger frame. “wait! i have one final surprise.”

“my god, what’s with all the surprises?” seongmin laughs, overwhelmed by everything.

he watches as taeyoung rummages through a pile of old crates, until he pulls out a sort of cylindrical-shaped item – a lantern.

“all this was actually supposed to be for your birthday but… i felt like doing this right now, because well,” taeyoung looks up at seongmin, a longing in his eyes. “i was afraid you’d leave.” taeyoung had whispered the last part, but seongmin hears it anyways.

seongmin feels his heart ache as he looks at taeyoung’s crestfallen expression. in the five years that he knew taeyoung, they only had one large disagreement – seongmin had always wanted to leave. taeyoung wanted to stay.

seongmin ponders. “here, give me the lantern.”

taeyoung quirks an eyebrow in confusion. “why?”

“well, it’s for me to make a wish, right? let me make my wish now.”

taeyoung hands the lantern to him wordlessly. seongmin lights the candle in the lantern, looks towards the night sky and closes his eyes ashe makes his wish.

“release the lantern with me, taeyoung-ah.” taeyoung smiles at the boy he so dearly loved, and was so afraid to lose. they held the lantern together, and at the count of three, watched as the lantern rose up into the air and got smaller and smaller, until it too, was part of the stars.

“so, what did you wish for?”

“hey! i can’t tell you that! that ruins the wish!” seongmin laughs, rushing over to hug taeyoung.

 _i wish to be free._ seongmin buries his face into taeyoung’s chest. _i wish that i can be free to do whatever i want, to love whoever i want to love. that’s my wish, taeyoung-ah._

it was the day.

his 18th birthday.

seongmin doesn’t wake up to the cries of the chief gardener that day. he wakes up with the sun shining into the servant’s quarters, face scrunching up as the light shone onto his face. he rubs his eyes, looking around the empty quarters. _of course, everyone was already awake and working_. the bouquet of roses at the edge of his bed catches his eye, and memories of the night before flood his mind. he smiles.

taeyoung.

seongmin puts on the most casual-looking clothes he owns, that being a loose white shirt and a pair of tan pants. it was the day his life would change forever – for better or for worse, he won’t know, but nonetheless, he was excited.

he folds his nightwear neatly and places it into a small knapsack along with the bouquet of roses. with a whistle, he slings it over his shoulder and leaves the quarters.

he takes his time to admire the interior of the castle one last time. the castle was a beautiful place – from the floor to ceiling windows, to the banisters coated with gold, and even the red carpet that tickled the soles of his feet whenever he had to visit the bathroom at night. he turns around and stares longingly at the grand hallways, fingers trailing the walls and face morphing into a look of reluctance. he’ll miss it, if he were to be honest to himself. 

but no more faltering, no more take-backs. he’s finally free.

seongmin walks to the king’s study room, knocking thrice.

“you may enter.” a voice said.

seongmin pushes open the polished wooden door, coming face to face with none other than hyeongjun himself.

hyeongjun looks up from the scripture he was reading, eyeing seongmin carefully, a piercing yet curious gaze. before seongmin could string together a sentence, the lightbulb in hyeongjun’s head seemed to go off. hyeongjun smiles.

“happy birthday, seongmin.”

“you know my name, your majesty.” seongmin states, though it sounded like a question.

“yes, indeed.” hyeongjun places the stack of papers he was reading to the side, clasping his hands together as he finally focuses his full attention on seongmin. hyeongjun chuckles, “i’ve heard a lot about you.”

_oh right, minhee._

seongmin is unsure of whether to laugh, so he remains silent.

“anyways, i think i know why you’re here today, but i should let you do the talking.”

“uh, yes.” seongmin clears his throat. he hadn’t spoken to the king personally before, and has only heard anecdotes from minhee of how the king was actually the “cutest person” he has ever seen, but right now, seongmin feels himself shrinking under the gaze of the king.

“i… i… with all due respect, your majesty, but i wish to leave the castle.” seongmin finally tears his eyes away from the carpeted floor, and looks up at hyeongjun.

the king seems to ponder for a moment, before nodding. “very well then. you may.”

seongmin sucks in a breath and takes a bow. this feeling… it feels nice, like a weight finally taken off his shoulders. “thank you, your majesty. i shall take my leave now.”

seongmin turns towards the door to leave, but gets interrupted by hyeongjun.

“seongmin, hold on.”

the boy turns towards the king who had an all-knowing expression on his face. “do you…have anything you want from the castle?” hyeongjun says slowly.

taken aback by the strange question, seongmin unknowingly quirks up an eyebrow.

“well,” hyeongjun starts off in an attempt to explain the sudden question. “yesterday, i saw something interesting. i saw you and the young guard, taeyoung, i think.”

seongmin gulps. _shit._

“i’m surprised minhee never told me about the two of you, but yesterday’s dance… i think it shows that you’ll be leaving with some regrets, no?” hyeongjun questions.

seongmin lets his shoulders slump down, nodding defeatedly at the king. _hyeongjun’s observant_ , he notes.

“it’s alright,” seongmin says, making eye contact with hyeongjun, and strangely enough, he sees understanding in his eyes. “i wish to leave and taeyoung wishes to stay, and i’ll let him. it’s what he wants.”

“well, i don’t know about that.” hyeongjun chuckles, standing up from his chair and making his way to the front of the table, sitting down on it comfortably. “i’ve received reports that state that taeyoung has been rather… distracted, as of late. sad, almost. why do you think that’s the case?”

the events of the previous night flash across his mind.

_“i was afraid you’d leave.” taeyoung whispered._

“your silence means you know, don’t you seongmin?” the king questions.

seongmin nods wordlessly, his heart stinging as he recalls the desperation and strain in the boy’s voice.

“i’ll… i’ll handle it. it won’t be a problem.” seongmin mumbles. _yeah right, as if he’ll ever get over this._

hyeongjun scoffs, shaking his head. “your voice gives it away, seongmin.”

before seongmin can reply, hyeongjun calls in one of the guards and whispers something into their ear. the guard quickly bows, before running out of the room.

“take a seat for a while. it’s an order.” hyeongjun says, and who’s seongmin to ever dare disobey the king? he gulps, taking a seat on a sofa in the corner made of an expensive, unrecognisable leather.

he watches as the king walks behind his table and pulls out a sword.

 _what the hell? has he done something wrong? but hyeongjun would never kill a man, right?_ seongmin’s mind runs wild as he tried to come up with an explanation as to why the hell the king would order him to sit down in his study, then proceed to pull out a sword.

seconds later, he hears footsteps down the hallway, then a quick knock on the door.

“enter.”

to say the least, seongmin was shocked as his eyes landed on a familiar figure – taeyoung.

taeyoung has yet to see him though, as he kneels down on one knee in front of the king. “your majesty.”

hyeongjun doesn’t allow him to rise.

“m-may i know why you’ve called me?” taeyoung asks, eyes burning holes into the ground at this point. seongmin can tell he was nervous.

without warning, hyeongjun pulls out his sword and clears his throat. he looks over at seongmin, who has fear in his eyes. did taeyoung do something wrong? why would hyeongjun ask seongmin to literally watch the boy he loved get killed in cold blood? did… seongmin do anything wrong?

“kim taeyoung, son of sir kim taehyun. you have proven your worth and ability as a valued soldier of the royal army. your swiftness and wit is unmatched throughout the country, and it is an honour for i, song hyeongjun, ruler of the song empire, to dub you as,” hyeongjun takes his sword, tapping taeyoung’s left shoulder, then his right.

“sir taeyoung, protector of the song empire.”

and everything clicked into place. _knighthood._ seongmin realises. _taeyoung has just been knighted._

taeyoung has practically frozen up, too surprised to even comprehend what just happened.

“you may rise.”

taeyoung stumbles to his feet and quickly dusts off the tunic he was wearing. “b-but… with all due respect, your majesty, but i think this was too sudden.”

“well,” hyeongjun shrugs, slotting his sword back into its stand. “no takesy-backsies!” and hyeongjun… giggles?

seongmin is convinced that the king has officially lost his marbles.

“i should explain myself to you two, huh?”

that’s when taeyoung finally notices seongmin’s presence, eyes immediately lighting up.

“minhee’s told me a lot about you seongmin, always talking about how you’d spend hours looking out the window of the servants’ quarters. at first, i was confused – that window looked out to practically nothing except some hills and the guards’ training grounds. even minhee didn’t know what you were looking at.

and frankly, i’m surprised you didn’t tell minhee about the guard that you’re head over heels for.”

hyeongjun watches as seongmin and taeyoung exchange bashful glances. “you can speak to me informally now, by the way, besides, i’m only a year or two older than both of you.”

“minhee didn’t need to know.” seongmin loosens up after he realises that hyeongjun didn’t mean any harm. “he was too busy running off in the dead of the night anyways.” seongmin wiggles his eyebrows at hyeongjun, who quickly averted eye contact. taeyoung watches the two in amusement. (thankfully, hyeongjun and minhee’s midnight extravaganzas were a well-kept secret.)

“ahem, anyways, there’s a reason why i wanted to knight taeyoung.

technically, i’m only allowed to knight someone who’s 21 years of age, but that rule book’s outdated, and plus, the younger ones seem to be getting more skilled nowadays. moreover,” hyeongjun looks over at the two love-struck idiots.

“it was within my power to give the both of you a happy ending.”

seongmin looks over at hyeongjun and taeyoung in confusion, as taeyoung started thanking the king profusely. what happily ever after? seongmin was still going to leave, and taeyoung, if anything, was now more obliged to stay.

“ah taeyoung. you might want to explain some things to seongmin.” hyeongjun gestures to the confused ex-garden boy, standing dumbfounded in the corner. “well, that’s all i can do for you lads today. you may take your leave.”

the two boys bow to the king in unison before scurrying out the room and closing the door shut.

“what?” is the first thing that left seongmin’s mouth.

“i want to visit the garden. let’s go there.” taeyoung says hastily, grabbing seongmin’s hand and pulling him down the stairwell. seongmin is a whole new level of confused at this point, being dragged along by taeyoung.

they enter the garden, and seongmin is greeted by the familiar scent of freshly cut grass and sweet nectar. he takes his time to stroll along the flower boxes – carnations, orchids, poppies and daisies.

“so, i’m a knight now.”

“i’m happy for you, i truly am.”

“you know what that means right?”

“that you have more responsibilities now, and the castle is yours to protect.”

“there’s one more actually.”

they stop in front of a familiar rose bush, still as vibrant as the day they met when they were thirteen.

“i have to protect the townsfolk as well, seongmin-ah.”

“oh.”

“you don’t know what that means, do you?”

seongmin scratches his neck awkwardly, shaking his head.

“it means i get to live in the village as well, seongmin-ah.”

seongmin finally gains the courage to look taeyoung in the eye. the latter’s eyes were sparkling with hope and anticipation, and most of all, they were brimming with love.

“wait… so that means…”

“yes, i’ll be able to live with you. in the village.” taeyoung smiles, holding seongmin’s hands gently.

“but… but don’t you want to stay here, in the castle? i thought you liked it here!”

“you’re really cute, you know that?” taeyoung laughs, ruffling seongmin’s hair. “i like the castle, but this isn’t where i wish to belong.”

“you want to belong to the village?” seongmin asks, tilting his head to the side.

taeyoung laughs again, plucking out a rose from the bush and slotting it behind seongmin’s ear. “silly,

i wish to belong wherever you are.”

and that’s when seongmin realises –

it wasn’t the roses that made him feel as though he belonged in the castle.

it was the memories he had made with them, with taeyoung – the boy who he met when he was thirteen and told him that roses were his favourite flowers.

he didn’t belong in the castle.

he belonged with taeyoung – the most magnificent rose in the rose bush and his happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> chapter 2 is a bonus chapter in hyeongjun’s pov 🤩


	2. a dance for two (bonus chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyeongjun stumbles across seongmin and taeyoung dancing in the castle basement.

hyeongjun’s getting bored of this ball. dazed, he glances around the bejewelled ballroom, filled with ladies wearing fancy dresses and men donning their finest suits. he locks eyes with minhee from across the ballroom, and promptly signals him to come over.

“yes, your majesty?” minhee bows and shuffles over to hyeongjun’s side.

“i’m bored, cover for me.”

minhee rolls his eyes teasingly. as much as hyeongjun presented himself as a strong and capable ruler, he was still a child at heart, and had an unscratchable itch for adventure. minhee simply nods, and hyeongjun slips off his mantle, sneaking away into one of the back rooms.

he wanders around the castle aimlessly as the music from the ballroom grows fainter and fainter. he trails his fingers along the worn-out banister leading to the castle basement, where all the guard posts and supplies were usually stored. before he could step into one of the many large hallways, he spots two figures, their face barely illuminated by the dim candlelight. damn, he really needs to get the candles replaced.

he squints at the two figures, trying to make out their faces.

_ were they… dancing? _

hyeongjun watches as the two hold each other close, dancing along to the faint music from the ballroom. he watches as the taller of the two twirls the other around, dipping him down. the smaller boy yelps in surprise. hyeongjun couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. he can tell that the two are inexperienced, from their unsynchronised steps and messy twirling, yet, the laughter that left their mouths was filled with mirth, a certain type of innocence and lack of care for the world.

as the two dancing boys come closer, hyeongjun manages to make out a familiar face –  _ that’s seongmin, isn’t it? and isn’t that one of the younger guards? _

taeyoung spins seongmin so that he was looking straight in hyeongjun’s direction. hyeongjun quickly hides behind a pillar, sucking in a breath. thankfully, the footsteps continue, and hyeongjun heaves a sigh of relief knowing he didn’t get caught.

“ah, hyeongjun, there you are. i was looking for you.”

hyeongjun looks towards the stairwell to see a familiar tall shadowy figure.

“the king of the cha clan wishes to speak to you.” minhee speaks up.

“sshh!” hyeongjun pounces onto minhee, covering his mouth.

“mmfrgh-whhat?” minhee squeaks out.

“it’s…it’s nothing. don’t worry,” hyeongjun whispers, letting go. “the king wishes to speak to me, right? let’s go.” he says, leading minhee up the stairwell.

“by the way,” hyeongjun uses his normal speaking voice now, “has seongmin ever mentioned… let’s say, a love interest to you before?”

minhee, taken aback by the sudden question regarding his co-worker and childhood friend, flinches backwards, his eyes widening. “why? what’s wrong?”

“it’s nothing, i was just curious. you mentioned that it’s seongmin’s birthday tomorrow right? what are you getting him?”

“oh, he wanted me to get him a new shirt and a pair of pants, and i already picked out the perfect white and tan ensemble for him.”

“that’s nice.”

“yeah, oh, and you know about it right? about his plans to leave the castle?”

“yes, and i’ll be expecting him.” hyeongjun looks towards minhee. “i think i may have the perfect birthday present for him.”

minhee raises an eyebrow. “you’re not obliged to give seongmin a birthday gift, you know?”

the image of seongmin dancing with the guard reappears in his mind, and despite the poor lighting, hyeongjun was still able to see the look of adoration on seongmin’s face.

“yes, i know, but i want to.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed this as much as i enjoyed writing it! kudos and comments are very much appreciated, i love hearing what people thought about the fic 🥺 
> 
> twt - [shjIuvr](https://twitter.com/shjIuvr)


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